The draft constitutions of the Legion of Christ received a
thorough vetting last week by the North American Territorial Assembly.

The
Assembly, composed of 24 Legionaries (21 elected Fathers and 3
Brothers appointed as observers) from among those in the territory,
met July 15 - 19 in Thornwood. It was an
important preparatory step for the general chapter that will be
held at the beginning of 2014.

When Cardinal De Paolis
received the charge to help the Legion revise its constitutions,
he decided to involve the entire congregation in this process.
So, over the past three years all the Legionary communities
have been meeting in an atmosphere of prayer and discernment
to review the constitutional texts, express what they should say,
what should be removed, what should change and what should
be improved.

All the communities reported their findings to a territorial
commission. The commission then looked at all the proposals, and
made connections between the communities and highlighted the common themes.
The results were sent to a general commission in Rome,
over which the Cardinal presided. They took all the suggestions
from around the world and came up with a draft
document that will be presented at the general chapter.

However,
the Cardinal felt it was important that going into the
chapter, the delegates have feedback from all the Legionaries on
this draft text. So, the members of each territory voted
for delegates to represent them at the territorial assembly –
the group that met last week. The assembly gathered all
that feedback and, after spending a lot of time reflecting
on the text and discussing it, sent their observations back
to the general commission. Each territory is going through a
similar process.

The assembly participants issued a letter July 19, 2013,
to all Legionaries in the North American Territory:

To all Legionaries
of ChristTerritory of North America

Dear fathers and brothers
in Christ,

This evening the territorial assembly ended. These
last few days have been for us a cenacle-like experience:
gathered together in prayer, we have discussed and discerned the
draft proposal of the Constitutions.

We have pondered the
responsibility placed in our hands upon being elected by you
to represent each member of the territory in this historic
task. It is a responsibility we have not taken lightly.
We have tried our best to discover what Christ is
asking of us and future generations.

Firstly, we would
like to thank the general commission for their hard work
to produce the draft. Many long hours and discussions have
surely gone into preparing this document. We hope the feedback
they have elicited from each of the territories helps the
commission to prepare the final document that will be studied
and approved by the general chapter next year as well
as by the Holy Father.

There were many and
varied topics to cover during these days. Along with our
own reflections, we studied the proposals that were sent in.
We took them to prayer and this produced discussions to

discern what the Lord is asking of the Legion. Very
importantly, we have experienced Christ’s promise that “where two or
three are gathered in my name, there am I in
their midst” as his Spirit has brought about a unity
and general consensus in all the discussions. This was especially
noted when we discussed the themes essential to our identity
and mission.

Time will tell if this moment of
intense renewal that we are going through and the important
milestone we have reached at this assembly will be made
fruitful by God’s grace and our response to it. We
recognize that, above all, even if on paper we have
a “perfect” constitution, what matters is the way we live
it out by a holy life and in our apostolate
– what is important is that we be saints and
apostles in the way God has called us to be.

As we leave this assembly, we want to thank
you for accompanying us with your prayers and sacrifices during
these days as well as to express our excitement as
we renew our commitment to live out our vocation as
Legionaries of Christ. As Blessed John Paul II challenged us,
“If you are what you should be, you will set
the world ablaze.” Let us move on to build the
Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement that will
help to extend the Kingdom of Christ.

We place the
fruits of the assembly in the Blessed Virgin’s hands and
ask her to continue to guide us as we prepare
to celebrate the upcoming general chapter.

Fr David
Daly -- I think the new constitutional text truly addresses
what the Church has asked the Legion in this period
of renewal. The new text is more aligned with the
current praxis of the Church for this type of document
and some structural changes will assure greater participation and representation
from all the members of the congregation. This text include
input, prayer and discussion from all current Legionary priests and
religious and, thus, it is truly representative of the working
of the Holy Spirit in the congregation. The new text
will provide more space for spiritual and apostolic creativity. It
will renew the confidence of the members and the Church
as a whole in the Legion of Christ. It will
be a new beginning, while safeguarding the benefits of our
spiritual patrimony.

Fr Lino Otero -- I love the new
draft for the constitutions. I see that it is purged
of its bend towards activism. The Founder had appealed to
the idealism of our youth so as to demand heroic
sacrifices from us. However, there was a lack of balance
in the way he went about it. To a great
degree, the measure of our success had to do with
externals. Now it is different. Our new draft puts everything
in the perspective of grace without sacrificing the true meaning
of our quest for the Kingdom of Christ. I must
confess that I have fought with the temptation of activism
for years. At times I could be described as a
workaholic. Our new constitutions bring about a new sense of
balance. This is why I love it. It helps me
remember what is most important in our lives: relationships.

Fr
Martin Connor -- We have definitely been able to synthesize
the most important constitutional elements of the document, taking out
unnecessary applications of the principles that guide our life, making
this code of life more simple and to the point
like most constitutions of religious orders. Remember that one of
the reasons we are doing this is that we had
a lot of spirituality in the work that does not
normally appear in a constitution of a community. The Pope
asked us to review and decide on the constitutional elements
to help keep what is essential and more of the
spirituality should go into another spiritual directory of the community.
There are still strong spiritual components to the work but
much less than before. The mere fact that we are
taking so much time to reflect about something so important
to us like our rule of consecrated life -- this
alone is bringing a deep impact. We all have treasured
this time together in community these last years and are
committed to continuing this beautiful exchange with each other.

Fr Christopher
Brackett -- This draft of the Constitutions offers a succinct
rule for our lives as Legionaries. It captures much of
the beauty of our existing Constitutions but centers more on
the principles and the basics that should be guiding all
we are and do. There is still work to be
done, particularly by the General Chapter that will work out
the final text and send it to the Holy Father
for approval. But I believe a great work is in
progress. What will be most exciting and important for me
will be how God works through the Constitutions to help
me and future Legionaries put on Christ as a holy
religious, priest and apostle called to bring the transforming love
of Christ to the heart of our society and culture,
one heart at a time. I thank my Legionary brothers
that were at my side during this entire process, especially
for their humbling spirit of faith, love, generosity and hope,
as the Lord continues to do his work in and
through us.

Br Kramer Cameron -- Being part of the assembly
was a grace and a blessing. I really didn’t know
what to expect, but I tried to come into it
open to whatever the Holy Spirit wanted. The Holy Spirit
was so present – so much so that there were
moments when he really moved me. The main progress that
I see will be simplicity and clarity and this, I
believe is crucial. The assembly itself has already had a
great impact on me. I really felt the Holy Spirit
was working to clarify concepts and I believe he was
able to do that – especially within my own heart
and mind. I believe he really wants the Legion and
the Movement, and this Assembly has solidified my belief that
this charism is a gift from God. He is the
author and trusts that we will cooperate for the good
of the whole Church. Jesus needs and wants hands, feet,
minds and hearts to live in and work through in
our modern day, and I believe the Legion and Regnum
Christi is one of the ways in which he wants
to do this.